Breaking Point
by 24DeltaQuadrant
Summary: The last person you'd ever expect shows up at Titans Tower asking for help. Slade. What does he want and why is he here? BBRae and some RobStar. Rated M for upcoming violence, lanuguage, and some sexual content.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Teen Titans, nor will I ever own the Teen Titans.**

_How in the world could it have come to this?_

_The last couple weeks have been totally insane. All of us have been thrown into situations that we couldn't possibly imagine. I mean, none of us could ever have anticipated any of this. _Any _of this. It's so nightmarish. I don't know what to say._

_I mean, my God, look at what we've had to do. None of us are proud of what we've done. None of us. We've had to torture. We've had to maim. Dear God, we've had to _kill_. Why? Why were we forced into this? Why, God? Why?_

_I guess that we should have known from the start that it wasn't going to turn out too well. I mean, it's not too often that we get the last person we'd ever expect knocking on our door asking for help. Everyone knows what happened, so I don't have to say anything. I feel like we've all lost something. Something we can never gain again. Our humanity. I don't know if any of us can say we have all of our humanity. I mean, we've all been forced to kill._

_It's not an easy thing to cope with. You would think that if someone was trying to kill you, you wouldn't have too many long term qualms about killing them. But you do. It haunts you. For God's sake, I shot someone in the head in cold blood! How could I have done that?_

_And here's where we are today. A totally unanticipated situation. I can't stick around here. It's too painful. There's too much baggage left over from those fateful weeks in April. None of us will ever forget the April of 2007. No one will. It's the new September 11. I mean, I'm going on and on about what's happened to us, but the whole world's gone to hell. The government's in an uproar and the Justice League is trying to cover for us. But I don't think they'll be able to. The general public wants to hang us out to dry. Maybe we should. I mean, come on. Five hundred thousand people died because of our mistake._

_It's all too much. We've killed, we've caused death, and we'll never be the same. The Teen Titans will never be the same. But none of this is even the worst part. The worst part of this_………

_I can't even talk about it yet. It's too painful. Who would've guessed that we'd wind up someplace like _there_, of all places? It's all too much. I don't even think any of us have really come to terms with it yet. I know that the JL has had some experience with stuff like this, but we've never encountered anything like it. It'll be a while before we even figure out what happened to us. It's all too much. It's too crazy. As Mas y Menos would say, "Estamos locos." "We're crazy." We certainly are. We've gone to hell and back._

_But we also found out that this world can just as easily be turned into a veritable hell. Why? I still don't know if I can talk about it. It's all so much. I mean, what happened is_...

_It's just_……..

_Fine. I need to tell someone. I need to say what happened. They usually say that that's good. If something's bugging you, you tell someone about it to get it off your chest. You know what? They're wrong. God knows how many reporters we've talked to. You think that made me feel any better, telling who knows how many people what happened? It doesn't. But I just need to say it to myself, because I may still be in denial about it._

_We_………

_We_……….

_We lost one of our own. One of our own is_…….

……._is dead._

**Author's Note: So, have I grabbed your attention? Short, I know, but it's just the prologue. It's not meant to be long. I'm almost finished with Chapter One, so it should be up soon. Thank you.**

**-24DQ**


	2. Chapter One: Arrival

**Disclaimer: Once again, I don't own the Teen Titans. Duh.**

**FYI, this is the first time I've ever tried my hand at romance. If it sucks, then I'm terribly sorry. But enough talk.**

Chapter One: Arrival

He was walking aimlessly down the streets of downtown Jump City. He took in all of the sights and sounds of a bustling city. There was so much happening all at once, and the people seemed so carefree, like they weren't worried that the world might end in five minutes. That was how he'd had to live his entire life. Always on the run from the Alliance, always trying to escape. It was his birthright, really. His parents had started the resistance. Therefore, when they died, leadership fell to him. It was only natural.

He fell into memory for a moment, thinking of how his parents had died. Tears began to well in his eyes as he remembered the images. His father, lying on the ground, bullet holes in his head and chest. His eyes were wide open in the shock and pain. See, his father wasn't killed with the first shot. It was after several bullets and about two hours of other tortures that his father was given the reprieve of death. His mother had been lying on top of his father. She'd been given an undignified death. Shot in the back of the head. Thankfully, her face was not shown as there would not have been much left. And as these images had been relayed throughout the ANN (Allied News Network), people had stood in the streets and cheered.

Quickly, he brought himself out of his memories and once again focused on the city. It was so vibrant, so alive, so much unlike his home city, where curfew was strictly imposed at 2100 hours. Troops were always marching the streets, patrolling for resistance scum, as they were called. He looked around and saw a woman talking on a portable phone. That was particularly surprising to him. The only telephones permitted to civilians where he lived was in there home. It was constantly monitored by the government, making sure that they could catch any resistance spy that they wanted to.

He came to a newsstand where there must have been at least twenty different newspapers that were sold. He looked down at them, intrigued. The clerk noticed that a patron was taking interest. "You looking for something specific?" he asked.

The man looked up. "Do you normally have these many different newspapers?"

The clerk shrugged. "Sometimes we don't get the morning shipment because of plane delays, but yeah, we usually have all this stuff out. Why?"

"Wait. Planes? As in airplanes?"

"Yeah," the clerk said condescendingly. "As in they load the newspapers onto planes and a shipment lands here. That's usually how stuff like that works."

"Hmm," responded the man. Once again, he lost himself in his thoughts.

Finally fed up, the clerk said, "Uh, do you mind? If you're gonna buy one, then buy it. But I do have other customers."

Once again snapped out of his mind, the man quickly moved away. "Sorry," he called over his shoulder. He continued on his aimless walk through the streets of downtown. He was very surprised at how different this world truly was. Well, he knew it was going to be different, but he didn't expect it to be this different. Come to think of it, he didn't really know what he expected. It was a different world after all.

As time moved on and the sun began to set, he noticed that the activity only slowed slightly. Another surprising thing. People stayed out well into the night, not bothering to go to bed. He continued to watch people do things that would have been a dream come true if he had been able to do them. He saw many people crowded around what appeared to be a restaurant. They were all focused on a television screen. The man stopped for a moment to watch. It appeared to be some sort of game. A player on the television then caught the ball and was taken down. This elicited a cry of success from the crowd.

As he continued to move on, he decided to go into a small store that appeared to be a general store of sorts. The sign for it said CVS. As he went in, he saw several racks of food. He walked down the racks, noticing so many interesting things like butter, chocolate, and even meat.

He went over to the other side of the store. While he was over there, he saw many different things, most of which appeared to be different types of medicines. It was the first time that he had seen medicine sold in such a way that anyone can buy it for any reason that they want. Medicines had always been rationed where he came from.

After eavesdropping on a few customers, he picked up the fact that some form of currency was required for all of these things. He watched several people purchase things, and the currency appeared to be a green paper and some metal coins. He also saw some other people use different types of cards. _Interesting_, he thought.

Knowing he had no currency, he decided to leave the store. As darkness enveloped the city and all natural light left, he decided to try to find someplace where he would be able to spend the night. He saw the outside corner of an alley and sat down, closing his eyes. He smiled. _Now this feels like home_.

However, he hadn't been sitting for five minutes when he heard a man's voice. "Excuse me." The foreign man opened his eyes. He saw a young man of maybe 25 years.

"Is there something you need?" the foreign man asked politely.

"Actually, I was hoping to help you," the young man said.

"How?"

"Well, do you have someplace to stay?"

"Not really."

"My apartment's not too far from here. I could let you stay there for a while. It's a two-bedroom, so you'd have your own bed." The young man stood, waiting for a response.

Taken by surprise, the foreign man said, "You wouldn't mind?"

The young man laughed lightly, "Oh, hell no. My wife is always telling me that I should help out people more often. _She's_ the one who always brings people over and has them stay the night. Trust me. It's no inconvenience."

The foreign man looked away from the other man, thinking. _Is everyone in this world as compassionate as this man? That seems unlikely, but no one is compassionate where I come from. Perhaps this is the perfect world where I can find help from._

He looked back at the young man. "Thank you very much. I accept."

The young man smiled. "Great." The foreign man stood up. The young man offered his hand. The foreign man took it.

"My name's Mark Castion."

"Nice to meet you. My name's Wilson. Slade Wilson."

"Slade, huh? Guess your parents named you before the psychopath."

Puzzled, Wilson asked, "What psychopath?"

Castion was surprised. "You've never heard of Slade? There's been several times where he's tried to blow up the whole damn city. No one knows what his motives are. Everyone just knows that he's deadly. We're lucky the Titans are around."

Wilson tensed by instinct. "Titans?"

"Yeah, the Titans. Teen Titans."

_XxX_

"Rae, come on!" Beast Boy yelled. "You've been in there for forever!" He continued to pound on the door to her room.

"And I'm staying in here until I decide to come out," came the reply from the door.

Beast Boy grunted in annoyance. "Come on! We're gonna be late!" He stood there, waiting for the response. None came. "Rae, I thought you wanted to see _War of the Worlds_!"

"And I will not make us late." Silence once again filled the hallway.

"If we don't leave in the next two minutes, we'll be late!"

"We will _not_ be late."

Beast Boy laughed sarcastically. "Oh? And how's that?"

Suddenly, the door popped open to Raven's room. She stood there in her typical emotionless stance. "Well? Are we going?"

Caught off guard, BB responded, "Yeah, yeah." They started walking down the hallway. BB then decided to ask, "So, uh, what exactly were you doing in there?"

Raven glared at him, a look that said ask-that-again-and-I'll-rip-you-head-from-your-body.

He backed off. "Okay, sorry."

She laughed, then sighed. "I was reading."

"You were reading?" he asked, incredulous.

"Yes, I wanted to finish the chapter."

He stared at her, his mouth gaping. "That's why you were aggravating me!"

"Yes."

"Uh!" he yelled. The he closed his eyes and laughed. "Come to think of it, it was pretty hilarious."

"Yes, it was."

As they were leaving the Tower, they ran into Robin. He smirked. "Where are you two headed off to?"

"She's been pestering me to see _War of the Worlds_, so we're going to go see that."

"Uh, huh." He smirked again. "Hey look, just be sure to pay attention to the movie."

Raven stepped forward. "What does that mean?"

Robin laughed. "Come on. Why do couples go to movies?" For once, Raven was speechless. He laughed again. "See ya later. Have fun."

Raven decided to take out her emotions on someone, so she gave BB the evil eye. He leaned backwards. "What! I didn't say it."

They drove the rest of the way to the movie theater. BB parked the car in the massively oversized lot. He looked at his watch. "What do you know?" he said. "Right on time."

"Good." Raven then looked at him. For some reason, she seemed to notice a lot more of him than she meant to. She hadn't realized how much taller he'd gotten since he was sixteen. He was now nineteen and she was eighteen. During that time, he had reached six feet even. He didn't look so small anymore. He actually looked good, she thought.

_Wait a minute,_ _why am I having these thoughts about Beast Boy? I mean this is kind of a date, but it's not like we've been dating for years or something like that_. Still, she couldn't help but notice him. She decided to look away.

At the same time, Beast Boy was paying attention to her. Now that the Titans had started wearing civilian clothes when not on the job, Rae wasn't always in the dark cloak and suit. Tonight, she was wearing a System of a Down T-shirt that hugged her body in the places BB shouldn't look at for long periods of time. She also wore a pair of jeans that also hugged her nicely.

He noticed that she was looking at him. She began to turn away. Without too much warning, he moved his hand up to catch her head. He turned her back towards him. As she faced him, she felt her knees weaken and she was thankful she was sitting. He gently placed his lips on hers, kissing her gently yet with passion. Just as gently, he pulled away.

Then he smiled. "Since Robin told us not to do that in the theater." She laughed and punched him in the shoulder. They both got out of the car and started walking towards the theater.

_XxX_

As Slade lay in his bed, he thought of many different things. He thought of the kindness of the Castions. It was so amazing to see people truly helping someone in need. Rebecca Castion was a friendly woman who made sure that Wilson had everything he needed, which wasn't much. He was used to living conditions much more Spartan than these.

In his world, if a person lived on the street, they didn't for long. They were taken to a processing center where they were experimented on. He had heard terrible stories of what happened to people who had been in these centers. All kinds of sick, twisted medical experiments.

But here, there were people who would reach out to those without a home to help them. The Castions were a great example of everything that his world needed. To sum it up in one word, compassion. That was what the Castions were, and that was what his world needed.

But more troubling, he thought of Mark's revelations to him concerning the Titans and himself. It sounded like he had an alter ego in this world, a maniacal, sick, twisted psychopath. He found that hard to believe, but he did not doubt Mark. It was just difficult to picture himself in such a position.

Most troubling were the Titans. _I know what they've done to me, and here, they're praised? They've done so much, so many terrible things that I can't even begin to count them. I wonder how many people they've killed. How many they've executed._

However, his vengeful side was losing the argument to his side of reason. _This _is _a different world that I'm in. If such a role reversal is possible with me, it must be possible with them as well. I shouldn't judge them so quickly. Who knows exactly what "I've" done in this world? Who I've killed? I shouldn't judge them based on their alter egos' actions._

He continued to stay up, thinking well into the night. Suddenly, he had an epiphany. He sat up in bed. He spoke softly, "They may be just who I need to help me."

_XxX_

That morning, Slade awoke to a smell. It smelled like something was cooking. He heard sizzling coming from outside his door. He pulled on his shirt that was draped over the chair and stepped outside his room.

He saw Rebecca Castion in the kitchen, frying what appeared to be eggs. She was using a spatula to mix them up. Mark was standing behind her. He was shirtless, his body pressed against hers. His hands held her elbows up. She leaned her head back and smiled as he kissed her neck. Slade heard her laugh lightly. Realizing it was an intimate moment, he tried to duck back into his room, but Rebecca spotted him.

"Oh!" she exclaimed. Mark dropped his hands from her elbows and moved back, turning to face Slade. Rebecca blushed. "Sorry about that," she said, all the while continuing to cook the eggs.

Slade came back out. "It's all right. Sorry if I made you uncomfortable."

Mark laughed. "No, you didn't. We've had worse things happen to us."

"Oh? Like what?"

This time, Mark's face flushed. "Let's not go there."

Rebecca picked the pan up off of the range and neatly put the eggs onto a plate. She handed it to Slade. "Here. It's for you. I hope you're not allergic to them."

Slade shook his head. "Oh, no. I haven't had them in forever. There aren't too many of them to go around where I come from."

"Really? Where's that?"

"Up north."

"Ah, I see." Rebecca then went to put some bread into the toaster.

Mark came out of his room, fully clothed now. He turned to Slade. "Now remember, our doors are open to you now. If you need a place to stay, here's where you can come."

"Thanks. Thank you very much. You've been so kind to me."

"It's just what we should do."

Slade started eating his eggs, amazed at how good they tasted. He had never had eggs before, and they were amazing. While he was eating, he saw Mark go into the bathroom. He then heard water start to run. He turned to Rebecca. "Is he going somewhere?"

She nodded. "Yeah, he has to go to work. He works at the Jump City office of Wayne Enterprises. He mainly does IT stuff, but some accounting as well." Slade went back to finishing his eggs.

As he was finishing, he saw Mark step out of the bathroom, fully dressed. He stopped next to Slade. "Mr. Wilson, I hope to see you again. You're a good man."

"Thank you, though I should be telling you that."

Mark laughed. "No, that's alright." He shook Slade's hand, and then stepped past him, headed for his wife. He kissed her as he headed out the door. She handed him a piece of toast as he did. "See you tonight," he called out to her. After Mark had left, Rebecca cleaned up the kitchen, then headed for the bathroom herself.

"I'm going to need to leave for work soon too, so I'm going to take a shower and head out."

"Where do you work?" Wilson asked earnestly.

"I work as a secretary for Acthelion Industries. It's actually headquartered here in downtown Jump City. Sorry to get up and run, but that's life when you work."

Slade shook his head. "That's fine. I know what you mean."

After Rebecca had left, Slade himself decided to take a shower, thinking that it would probably feel pretty good. He turned on the water as hot as he dared without scalding himself. He let the hot water run over him, relaxing his entire body. His muscles relaxed, and with his muscles, the barriers he kept around certain memories.

Rather than fight it, he let the memories overtake his mind. Even though he suppressed some more painful memories, he did think that it was good to reflect once in a while. He thought back to her. Her name had been Jessica Carlton. She had joined the resistance after the Alliance had had her parents killed because her father had done genetic experiments without the Alliance's consent. Jessica had managed to survive because she was driving home when it happened. She saw her house surrounded by Alliance troops and never went back.

She went to the resistance, where she met him. They'd both been young, as he'd been 23 and she'd been 21. Before he became leader of the resistance. He'd just seen the mutilated bodies of his parents displayed on worldwide television. She hadn't even been able to say goodbye to her parents before they were killed. They met and found comfort with each other. They had both lost their parents and it helped to talk to someone who was going through the same thing.

Before long, their relationship deepened. He remembered the first time he kissed her. It was not a long or passionate kiss, simply a kiss. Yet that moment still echoed within him. He continued to think back, to the night that they first stayed with each other. While letting the water run over his body, a sad smile crossed his face. For two years after that, they stayed with each other. He asked her to marry him. She agreed.

But then came the day. She didn't return after her recon mission from an Allied garrison. For three days, there was no sign of her. Then, a package was sent to a resistance front. It was sent by the Alliance with instructions to take it to the leader of the resistance, who was now Slade. Slade had opened the package. Even in the shower, he fought down the utter revulsion he felt. Inside the box had been the decapitated head of Jessica Carlton.

As he stood there in the shower, he felt tears stream down his face. He never sobbed, simply let the tears come. As he thought, it was good to let the emotions out. For about three minutes, he stood there, letting tears flow. Finally, he turned off the water and opened the shower curtain. He closed his eyes, once again sealing away the horrific images of Jessica's head in a box.

He stepped out of the shower and dried off, changing back into his clothes. He looked around the apartment and found a piece of paper and a pen. He sat down and began to write.

_Mark and Rebecca,_

_Thank you very much for allowing me to spend the night with you. You two are the most compassionate people I have ever met and you have reminded me that there is still compassion in the world. I hope that you continue to remain as compassionate with others as you have been with me. I hope to se you again someday._

_Slade Wilson_

After writing the note, he left it on the kitchen counter. He opened the front door to the apartment and looked back inside. _Certainly is much different here_, he thought. He smiled wryly as he thought on the conditions back where he normally lived. Lucky if you even got a mattress at the resistance, but they were a family. And family stuck together.

And he knew what he had to do to make sure that his family survived. He knew where he had to go. Who he had to get help from. He stepped out of the apartment and let the door close behind him.

_XxX_

"I saw you there last night. You were freaking out!" yelled Raven. Cyborg sighed loudly as Raven and Beast Boy continued into their "argument". It wasn't really an argument, it was more just them trying to figure out who was more freaked out by _War of the Worlds_.

"Hey, I never denied that I was freaking out. But I wasn't the only one. You were sitting there wide-eyed when it fried those people, and don't tell me you weren't. I saw you."

"In your dreams. I don't scare."

Beast Boy laughed. "Yeah, sure. You still believe that, huh? Don't you remember the time when we watched _Wicked Scary_?"

"Yeah, I remember how ridiculous that movie was."

"Well, I'll give you that one. But when your fear that didn't exist tried to kill us?"

Raven went to respond, but realized that she had been beaten. Though rather than admit her fear, she responded, "Wow. You actually managed to beat me in an argument. That's a first. I must be having a bad day."

"Oh, thanks," he replied sarcastically.

"ENOUGH!" intervened Cyborg. "I am sick of you two constantly going on and on about everything. Can't you two just go on a normal date without having to argue about it? Or just kiss each other like normal boyfriend/girlfriends do?"

"Okay," said Beast Boy. He suddenly pulled Raven to him, capturing her mouth with his. Though thoroughly surprised, Raven was equally surprised that she didn't shove him off of her. Instead, she returned the kiss. The kiss actually began to get some fire. His arms encircled her. She followed suit, thinking about how good this actually felt. Suddenly, he then broke away and turned to face Cyborg, keeping Raven in his arms. "Like that?"

Cyborg opened his mouth to speak, but didn't find adequate words. Not really knowing what to say, he decided on this: "You know, that's the first time I've ever been really speechless."

That elicited a laugh from both Raven and Beast Boy. Cyborg left the room, shaking his head and chuckling as he did. Beast Boy then turned back to Raven, still in his arms. He removed his arms and stepped back from her, his face flushing slightly. "Sorry. Just wanted to do that."

Raven smiled lightly. "Don't."

"Don't what?"

"Be sorry."

Beast Boy's eyes widened in surprise. "Wait, you're serious?"

"Yeah," she said before walking off. This left Beast Boy in the room alone. He looked up at the ceiling. _Wow_, he thought. _That was amazing_. He fell back onto the couch, still maintaining his dreamy stare at the ceiling

_XxX_

Meanwhile, Robin and Starfire sat in the kitchen. They were both eating lunch together and talking. He had a sandwich on wheat bread with salami, Swiss cheese, and chips. She was busy gulping down a bottle of mustard along with some of her very own homemade _glorp_. As they continued to eat, Cyborg walked in, still shaking his head.

Robin looked over at him. "Something wrong?"

"Huh? Oh, no." Cyborg looked down and laughed.

"What is it?"

"I apparently instigated a make-out session between Beast Boy and Raven."

Robin nearly choked on his sandwich, then looked up in disbelief. "What?"

"Yeah. They were arguing about who got more freaked out by _War of the Worlds_ and I was sick of it so I told them to just shut up and kiss each other like normal boyfriends and girlfriends do."

"And?" asked Starfire.

"And they did."

"Wait," said Robin. "Are you talking like a light kiss?"

"No, I mean a arms-around each-other-with starts-of-moaning kiss."

"Wow, that's - ,"

"Surprising, I know. I gotta go take care of some stuff with the T-Car. I'll see you later." Cyborg left the kitchen through the opposite door, headed for the elevator.

"You know, I think that that's a good thing," said Starfire, taking a pause for a sip of mustard.

"What is?"

"Raven and Beast Boy."

"Oh, I never said it was bad. It's just very surprising."

"This is most definitely true."

They went back to eating their lunch and talking, though now the conversation was dominated by Beast Boy and Raven's relationship. As they continued to talk, Robin found himself paying more attention to certain areas of Starfire than he probably should have been. _Wait, I shouldn't be thinking of Starfire this way. She's my best friend._

Meanwhile, Starfire was also feeling something different concerning Robin. _I wonder what this feeling is. Perhaps it is something I've never felt before? Maybe even love? _ She quickly dismissed that idea from her head. _No, not love. Perhaps deep kinship. But to love is something I've not done before, and I don't think that this is it._

As they finished their lunch, Robin saw a motion sensor go off on the security display. He quickly moved past Starfire to look at the data readout.

Starfire's head turned with Robin. "What is it?"

"A motion sensor went off."

"Where?"

"East side of the island." He turned around to face Starfire. "We should go check it out."

They left the Tower, with Star flying while holding Robin, headed to the disrupted motion sensor. As they began to descend, they saw a man who appeared to be in his thirties. He was wearing nondescript clothes and did not appear to be a threat. Still, that did not ease Robin's mind. He dropped to the ground directly in front of the man.

He held out his hand. "Stop! You are trespassing here. What do you want?"

The man spoke assuredly. "Are you the Teen Titans?"

Robin was taken slightly aback by the question. "Yes, I'm Robin, and this is Starfire," motioning to Star as she landed. "Now, who are you?"

The man seemed to hesitate before giving out his name. He inhaled and brought his head up to face Robin. "My name is Wilson. Slade Wilson."

**Author's Note: So, now Chapter One is up. This is actually the longest individual chapter I've ever written, clocking in at around 4,400 words and 12 pages. Probably seems short to some other big-time writers, but it's good for me.**

**As I said above, I am terribly sorry if the romance sucked. I'm not the best at it. I won't have too much access to the computer this weekend, but hopefully I will be able to get Chapter Two up sometime next week. Look for some answers in the next chapter.**

**And I give a very special thanks to my sole anonymous reviewer, Lostnfuzed. Thank you very much for your review.**

**Until next time.**

**-24DQ**


	3. Chapter Two: Request

**Disclaimer: It's never new, but I _still_ don't own Teen Titans. But I will own the world! Hahahaha!**

**Sorry.**

**Author's Note: So, here it is. Chapter Two of Breaking Point. I'm a little surprised I finished this so soon. Hopefully my writing streak will continue. But I'll have more at the end. Onto the story.**

Chapter Two: Request

"Excuse me?" Robin asked in disbelief. "What did you say your name was?"

"Slade Wilson."

All conscious thought left Robin's mind. Basic instinct took over entirely. With no warning whatsoever, Robin grabbed Wilson by the throat. He shoved him to the ground, pressing his knee into Wilson's stomach keeping him firmly pinned to the ground. Robin watched as apprehension clouded Wilson's eyes.

"I sincerely hope that I did not hear you correctly," whispered Robin venomously.

Starfire stood back, remaining apprehensive but feeling disturbed at Robin's actions. "Robin," she said, hoping that the sound of her voice would bring him out of his instinct takeover.

Robin blinked his eyes. He looked into Slade's eyes. He saw several different things. Apprehension. Disappointment. Maybe even a little fear. But one thing he did not see was hostility. Robin released his hold on Slade's throat. Slowly, he backed up off of Slade. He continued to remain alert, looking for any sign that Slade was going to attack. He saw none.

Slade stood up slowly, taken off guard by the young man's quick and unexpected actions. However, he knew that in this world and this city particularly, the name Slade carried with it anger and resentment. "This is very complicated, but I'm not the person who you think I am." He waited for a response and received none. "I'm not the Slade you know of."

"Really?" came the young man's sarcastic response. "You've pulled all kinds of tricks on us before, Slade." He nearly spat the name Slade, saying it as if it embodied all of his contempt for everything evil in the world. "We're taking you to the brig. I'm not letting you off this island."

Slade opened his mouth to speak, but the young man cut him off. "Whatever you have to say, I don't particularly want to hear it." He moved forward and grabbed Slade by the arm. He whirled Slade around one hundred eighty degrees. "Move," he said as he shoved Slade forward, pushing him into the doorway leading to the Tower.

As Slade was being led through the doorway, he lost himself in his thoughts. He had heard stories of this place on his world. He had heard that many terrible things had gone on in here. This was the Alliance's main prison facility. If it could be called a prison. It was more like an experimental station. Not medical experiments. No, those experiments would be kind when viewed in comparison with these. These experiments were used to determine what torture techniques worked best. _This is the place where Jessica died_.

Quickly, he pushed the thought from his head. _No_, he thought. _This is a different world. I have to try to let go of my preconceptions about them and about this place._ He was led through a dark corridor to what appeared to be a prison cell. Without warning, he was shoved inside. The door sealed itself behind him. _If I don't, then why should I expect them to let go of their preconceptions about me?_

Outside the cell, Robin was ready to explode. He had kept his anger sealed up because he didn't want to do anything stupid or hurt the man. Now, he couldn't hurt the man. He turned around and punched the wall. Hard.

Starfire had had enough. "Robin, how do we know that he is really Slade? What if he is telling the truth?"

Robin whirled on Star. "If you want to take that chance, be my guest. But I'm not letting him out of that cell until he shows me proof of who he says he is. I don't care what you say about how someone is good deep down. Starfire, Slade is evil. You of all people should know this."

Now it was Starfire's turn to get angry. "I _do_ know that Slade is evil. But this man may not even be Slade. We should at least listen to what he has to say."

Robin shook his head. "Look, before we do anything, we have to tell everybody else about this. They have a right to know about this.

Though annoyed, Starfire reluctantly back off. "You are correct. We should inform everyone else about this."

_XxX_

_The small room was covered in darkness, lit only by the low glow of the crescent moon. The amount of things inside the room were sparse as well. There stood a bed in the corner of the room, double-size. The bed's sheets were ruffled as though there had been a struggle there. A desk with a small lamp stood near the sole window of the room. A chair sat adjacent to the desk, both made of a cold metal. On the side wall of the room was a doorway that led to a nearby bathroom. The bathroom was small, yet served its basic purpose. The walls of the room were bare, painted with a nondescript brown that seemed to naturally blend with the surrounding environment no matter what the time of day._

_Inside the room stood two people. One a male and one a female. The man sat at the desk, his fists tightly clenched, gripping the edge of the desk. The man was wearing an undershirt and boxer shorts. The woman was slowly rubbing the man's shoulders, trying to relax away his anxiety to get him to come to bed with her. She was simply wearing a bra and underwear._

"_How in the world could he have possibly escaped?" hissed the man. "We have intelligence spies everywhere. There's no way he could have gotten through our intelligence grid."_

_The woman continued to rub his shoulders. "Can we think about that in the morning?" she said in a low, seductive, sultry voice. "Please."_

_The man began to relax slightly. His head rolled forward. Suddenly, he was alert again. He turned to face the woman. "Didn't you say you were having a problem with our resident jackass?"_

_She smiled. "No, I managed to take care of that little problem. He won't bother me again."_

_The man laughed. "Really? What'd you do to him?"_

"_I told him that if he ever touched me again, I would make him suffer before he died."_

_The man's eyes flashed. "You didn't go into specifics, did you?"_

_It was her turn to laugh. "No, he got the message loud and clear."_

"_Excellent." The man turned around again to face out the window. "He's been trying to get under my skin for a long time now. I've had it with him."_

_She leaned forward to whisper in his ear. "Well, then maybe you should kill him."_

_He smiled. "I would certainly like to, but as much as I hate to admit it, we need him. He's the best at what he does."_

_She nodded. "He certainly is at that. I've seen him do what he does. He's very good at getting results. He always gets something from them."_

"_That he does. But I would still like to kill him. He's been trying to get into everyone's bed recently. You, Sherina, probably even the goddamn secretary."_

_She nodded. "Yeah, and I bet that dumb bitch probably let him screw her, didn't she?"_

"_Who, the secretary or Sherina?"_

"_Either one."_

"_The secretary, I would have no doubt. But Sherina would probably try to kill him if he did."_

"_I guess he has a death wish, huh? Trying to get you and Sherina pissed off at each other at the same time. Not a good combination."_

"_No, he's smarter than that. Probably trying to play us off of each other."_

_He looked back out the window, getting lost in his own conspiracy theories again. She sighed in annoyance. "Will you come to bed now?" she asked in exasperation._

_Without warning, he turned around, knocking over the chair. He grabbed her in his arms and began to kiss her rapidly. Her eyes rolled up in her head in pleasure. _Not entirely unexpected, _she thought_, but still oh, so good._ He continued to kiss her as she ran her arms along the inside of his shirt, causing his pleasure to increase. He turned around with her in his arms, now facing her back towards the desk. He slowly placed her down on the desk, laying down on top of her as he lay her on top of the desk. He used his free hand to knock away the desk lamp. Her eyes widened in surprise. "And just what do you think you're doing, Mr. Dick Grayson?"_

_Grayson continued to kiss her. He reached his hands behind her back and undid her bra. "Who needs the bed, Koriand'r? Who needs the bed?" He peeled his shirt off his chest and went back to kissing her._

_XxX_

"So, just hand on a second. You're saying that there's a man currently in our brig claiming to be Slade?" asked Cyborg. Raven, Cy, and BB were just as shocked as Robin and Starfire when they told them what had transpired outside earlier.

"Yes," responded Starfire. "He said that his name was Slade Wilson." Before anyone else could speak, she was quick to add, "But that does not mean that he is the Slade who we have faced before."

"Why wouldn't he be?" asked Raven. "I'm not jumping to conclusions here and saying we should crucify him, but just who would this person be if he wasn't _the_ Slade?"

This left Starfire at a loss. "I am uncertain."

"So why don't we try to talk to him. Ask him what he says and see if any of this makes sense," piped in Cyborg, trying to be the voice of reason.

Beast Boy, however, had other ideas. "No, I don't trust him. It has to be Slade. And if it is, just keep me away from him," he said, his eyes flashing with anger.

"You're right," said Robin. "There's no doubt that this man is the Slade who we've been after."

"But what if he's not?" asked Raven. "What if we're immediately convicting an innocent man? We don't have the right to do that. We need all of the facts first."

"Facts?" asked BB incredulously. "Facts? What facts do we need? Slade just showed up on our front doorstep. Are we just going to let him go only to have him turn around and attack us again?"

Raven shook her head. "No, you're missing my point. We just need to know if he really is Slade."

"Raven's right," said Cyborg. "You guys shouldn't be jumping to conclusions like this. He might not be the real Slade, and if he isn't, we don't have a right to keep him locked up indefinitely."

"I don't care," said Robin. "He's Slade."

"Why?" asked Starfire.

"Why what?"

"Why are you so certain that this man is Slade?" She glared at them both. "You two are too quick to jump to conclusions. You have not even asked him what he wants, and yet you jump to conclusions because his name is Slade. Why? You assume the worst about him immediately. Why do you do this?"

Now she was getting angry. "What you are doing to this man is no different from how Val-Yor treated me. He believed me to be inferior simply because I am a Tamaranian. He did not even try to get to know me. He did not want to. All he wanted to do was to hold on to his sad preconceptions about my people. You are doing the same thing to this man. You are judging him based on his name. You fail to look past your own preconceptions about Slade. Well, I will not let you convict this man simply because you _think_ he is evil."

Both Robin and Beast Boy shrunk back, knowing that they were defeated. Neither one of them could really come up with a suitable response to Starfire's speech. She then spoke, breaking the silence. "Even so, it is still possible that this man is indeed Slade. But we need to have some sort of compromise."

Cy spoke up. "Look, what we should do is at least talk to him. Let's hear what he has to say about himself. That way, we can judge for ourselves whether or not he is Slade or if he's someone else. Deal?"

"Deal," said Robin and Beast Boy simultaneously. "We'll talk with him in an hour," said Robin.

_XxX_

Raven was sitting in her room, meditating. Well, she wasn't really sitting. She was actually levitating as she always did when she meditated. Even though her mouth quietly chanted "Azarath Metrion Zynthos" repeatedly, her brain was far more active.

"_You should just kill him now. Remember what he did to you and to the Titans," said Rage. Her words dripped with venom._

"_No, we can't just kill someone," Raven shot back._

"_Why not? He's tried to kill you several times."_

"_But we don't know for sure that this man is Slade," piped up Knowledge. "Starfire had a good point about jumping to conclusions. One should always keep an open mind. You should not immediately assume the worst about this man, nor should you immediately assume the best about him. You should remain cautious."_

"_Or we could just sit here and sing," said Happy jovially. Her joy was quickly shattered when several pairs of eyes all turned to glare at her. "Sorry."_

"_Ah, who really gives a damn anyways?" asked Sloth. "So what if he is Slade? It's not like he's going to hurt you when he's just sitting there in the brig. Leave him there."_

"_Oh, yeah. Leave someone there who you know has caused a lot of people a lot of pain and should be in a real prison," responded Brave. "You should just scour the city and try to find his headquarters. They're bound to be somewhere nearby. Then we could tear the place up."_

"_No, going around and destroying things isn't the answer," replied Knowledge. Quickly thereafter, the conversation degenerated into an argument. The only person in the group who was silent was Raven herself._

_Finally, she had had it with constantly hearing everyone talking at the same time. "ENOUGH!!" she yelled. Everyone else immediately stopped talking. "I am sick of you constantly arguing in my head. You're all right and you're all wrong at the same time." She turned to Knowledge. "You're right in that we shouldn't jump to conclusions." She then turned to Sloth. "You have a point in that maybe we should just leave him down there." She turned to Brave. "You're right in that we should figure out where he came from." She then turned to Rage. "And you're right in that I might like to kill him. But I shouldn't._

"_But any way you look at it, the decision is mine and I'm not going to have you all constantly arguing in my head!" Everyone else remained quiet. Raven returned to her meditation._

She was aroused by a knock on the door. "Who is it?" she asked.

"It's me," came Beast Boy's reply.

"_You know, I really like him. He's funny," said Happy._

"Shut up," Raven mumbled under her breath. Then she turned to the door. "Come in." The door slid open. Beast Boy stood in the doorway, not entering the room. Raven waited for a moment, then said, "Are you coming in or not?"

Beast Boy inhaled. "Actually, I just came down here to apologize."

_That_ took Raven off guard. "A-apologize? For what?"

Beast Boy shrugged. "I was kind of being an ass earlier about Slade. You were right. I shouldn't have immediately assumed the worst and I'm sorry if I snapped at you."

"Well, I - ," said Raven, not quite sure how to respond. _I don't know what I expected,_ she thought, _but certainly not an apology. He's always so quick to jump in to everything._ "Why are you apologizing?"

"I just told you," Beast Boy said, not entirely sure of her meaning.

"No, I mean why are you apologizing about this specific thing? It's not like you to apologize."

Beast Boy sighed, not really wanting to continue. _I guess I'm stuck here_, he thought. "What Slade did still hurts for me."

Raven exhaled, not really wanting to approach this topic. "You mean……."

"Yes, I mean about Terra." Raven's shoulders fell. Terra was still a touchy subject with Raven. Even after she had been turned to stone, Raven had never truly forgiven Terra. She still held a grudge against a woman who would probably never come back. "I know you don't like to talk about her, but you asked. I didn't bring it up."

Raven knew that she should have stopped there, but she didn't. She continued to push for more. "What does Terra have to do with it?"

Then Beast Boy blew up. "Goddammit, Rae, do I have to spell it out for you?! Just because you hate her doesn't mean I do!"

"You mean you still love her."

Beast Boy shook his head vehemently. "No, I don't love her. But I do have feelings for her."

Raven scoffed. "You have feelings for a traitor? Still? She tried to kill us."

"Yes, I know that. And do you also remember how she sacrificed herself to save all of our lives?" Beast Boy was getting angry now. "Just because you are desperate to hold on to your grudge doesn't mean I have a grudge."

"You still love her, don't you?"

"God. No, Rae, I never said that - ,"

"But you're implying it. And if you're still in love with her, then I don't see the point of any of this."

Beast Boy's mouth dropped open. "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying maybe this was a mistake."

"This?" he said. "You mean us?"

"Yes. Us."

Beast Boy stood there in stunned silence. First he had come to apologize to her and now she was breaking up with him. Not what he expected. Raven hadn't expected to say that either. And she knew she shouldn't have. _Why did I say that to him?_

"Well, then I guess it's no big loss," Beast Boy said. She could tell that he was fighting his own emotions. With no other words, he turned around and went out the door. It slid shut behind him.

_Why did I do that?_ Raven thought. _Why did I push him away like that? He didn't deserve that. He doesn't love Terra. Why did I do that?!_ she screamed in her head.

"_You did that because it's what he deserved," whispered Rage in her ear._

"_Shut up," whispered Raven._

"_Face it. He's always been in love with that two-faced slut. He'll never change. He's too wrapped up in his own ways to change. It's what he deserved."_

"_Shut up," said Raven louder._

"_It's good that she's dead. You know, the only reason she was with him was to get to you. She knew you had feelings for him, so she went right for your weak spot."_

"_SHUT UP!!!" screamed Raven. "Just shut up!"_

"_It doesn't have to be this way," came an unfamiliar voice. Suddenly, a new person appeared. She was wearing modest clothing that didn't flash anything and yet made her look beautiful._

"_Who are you?" asked Raven._

"_I am your newest emotion. Love."_

"_Love?" Raven said incredulously. "You mean I'm in love with him?"_

"_No, not necessarily. But you _do_ have feelings for him. And he didn't deserve to be shut out like that." Love motioned toward the door. "You should go and talk to him."_

_Raven shook her head. "I can't talk to him, not right now."_

Outside the doorway to Raven's room, Beast Boy stood there. He was too stunned to do anything else. He had gone in the room to tell Raven he was sorry. Five minutes later, she had broken up with him. _Dammit, why did she do that?_ thought Beast Boy. _Why did she do that?_

_I don't love Terra. I don't think I ever did love Terra. I had feelings for her, and I still do. But they're not those kind of feelings. I feel towards Terra the way I feel towards Starfire. Just as a friend. Why can't Raven see that?_

_Why can't Raven see why she's the one who I feel that way about? _Beast Boy then chuckled wryly. "What is it with my choice of women?" As Beast Boy continued to laugh, he could feel the tears begin to flow down his face.

_XxX_

Forty-five minutes later, Slade was sitting in the prison cell. No one had come to see him or even asked anything of him. It felt like he'd been in there for a couple hours when the doorway opened. In walked the five Teen Titans. On the far left, there was Raven, then Cyborg, then Robin, then Beast Boy, then Starfire. All of them regarded Slade with caution and suspicion.

Robin motioned to a chair. "Sit down," he told Slade. Slade sat on the chair, facing the Titans. The Titans also took seats, all facing Slade. "We've come to a decision," said Robin. _He must be the leader of the group_, thought Slade. "We've decided to listen to you and hear what you have to say. But it better be good."

Slade bowed his head lightly. "Thank you for letting me speak." He inhaled, preparing to tell them who he truly was. "There's no easy way to say this, so I'll just say it. I'm not from this world."

"You mean, you are an alien like me?" asked Starfire.

Slade shook his head. "No, I mean I am not even from this version of reality. I'm not from this dimension."

"You're from a parallel dimension?" asked Cyborg.

"Yes, I am. The place I come from is similar to this place in terms of names, faces, and physical likeness."

Robin turned to Cyborg. "Cy, I would assume that you know if it's even possible for there to be other dimensions."

"It's certainly theoretical, though we don't have any substantiating proof for that."

Robin turned back to Slade. "So you say you're from another dimension?"

"Yes."

Robin shrugged. "Keep going."

"The world I come from is a terrible place. A powerful government known as the Unity Alliance came to power out of the ashes of the Third World War."

"Third World War?" asked Beast Boy. "Between who?"

"In 1961, the United States of America and the Soviet Union launched their missiles on each other. Both countries were effectively destroyed. Without the two major powers of the world, the rest of the governments collapsed. This allowed fascists to take control of the world, forming the Unity Alliance."

"So the United States and the Soviet Union destroyed each other?"

"Yes."

"Wow."

Robin piped back in, now intrigued. "Continue."

"The Unity Alliance is an oppressive government. They are quick to silence all opinion that does not conform to their own. No sedition of any kind is tolerated and the penalty for sedition is immediate execution." Slade inhaled again, now preparing to tell them about himself. "I am the current leader of the Free World Resistance. It's been in existence ever since 1962 when the last surviving Senator of the United States government, Richard Wilson, formed it."

"Hold on," said Raven. "Wilson? Isn't your last name Wilson?"

"Yes. Richard Wilson was my grandfather. He started the Free World Resistance. Ever since then, it has grown in size. We now stand a real fighting chance of overthrowing the Unity Alliance once and for all."

"Why are you the current leader?" asked Robin.

"When my grandfather was killed, command of the resistance fell to my father. After he died, I was given command."

"When did your father die?"

Slade exhaled, clearly showing signs that this was a touchy subject. "Twelve years ago, my parents were captured. They were then killed. I saw their bodies on worldwide television." As he said this, he regarded Beast Boy with apprehension.

BB noticed this. "Something wrong?"

_I'm not sure they're ready to hear this, but I guess I'm stuck now_, thought Slade. "You look exactly like the person who killed my parents."

"What?" asked Beast Boy. _I killed them?_

"In my world, your alter egos, I guess you could call them, enforce the will of the Unity Alliance. The six of them have a very tenuous relationship that is united by only one thing – their hatred of the Free World Resistance."

"Wait," said Beast Boy. "Six?"

"Yes, six. A blond woman by the name of Tara Markov." Silence fell on the room.

"You're saying that Terra is alive?"

"Yes, in my world, she is."

Beast Boy leaned back in his chair. "Oh, my God."

"What?" asked Slade, not knowing of what had happened with Terra.

Beast Boy snapped. He rushed out of his chair and grabbed Slade by the collar, lifting him from the chair. "Don't 'what' me! You killed her! It was your fault!"

Raven stepped up from her chair. "Calm down, Beast Boy," she said firmly. Slowly, Beast Boy relaxed his arms. He put Slade back in his chair.

"I'm sorry for anything that your Slade may have done, but I didn't do that. I'm not him."

Robin spoke. "Let's just get to the point. There's obviously something you want. What is it?"

"Well, when I first came to this world, I didn't really know what to expect. I didn't know if I would find clear candidates for what I wanted or not. I didn't think that it would be this easy to find people who may be willing to help me, nor did I expect to be regarded with fear, malice, and suspicion. Not that I blame any of you.

"The resistance managed to find an experimental dimensional gateway, obviously designed to transport people to other dimensions. There was enough energy for one round trip. I thought it would be best if I was the only person to go. I came in hopes of finding someone to help us fight the Unity Alliance."

"Wait a minute," said Cyborg. "You mean - ,"

"Yes. I'm asking for your help. I'm asking you to come back to my world with me."

**Author's Note: Don't flame me for what I did with Raven and Beast Boy. All is not lost. I didn't expect to do that though. Just kind of happened.**

**Surprised by my little start of a sex scene between Robin and Starfire? Oh, and Sherina will be explained a little more later. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Chapter Three should hopefully be up soon.**

**Until next time.**

**-24DQ**


	4. Chapter Three: Decision

**Disclaimer: I DON'T OWN THE TEEN TITANS! GET IT THROUGH YOUR HEAD!**

**Author's Note: Sorry about the long break between chapters. Slight writer's block. Anyways, Chapter Three is now completed and up. Enjoy it, for the mood of the story is going to change very quickly soon.**

**Dedication: I dedicate this chapter to letishia, friend, fellow FMA fan, and fanfiction writer.**

Chapter Three: Decision

Several hours later, the Titans sat in the living room. After listening to Slade's request, they decided to sit down and talk about everything. Once again, Robin was on the offensive. Starfire was playing devil's advocate for Slade, while Raven and Cyborg were trying to remain neutral. Beast Boy, on the other hand, was not as offensive as he was earlier. However, he was not on Starfire's side either.

"I still don't trust him," said Robin. "We can't be sure if he's telling the truth. It all comes down to a matter of trust. And I don't trust Slade."

"_But_ consider the validity of his story," responded Raven. "That story was pretty preposterous. It doesn't seem very likely that Slade would make up such a ridiculous story just to get to us."

"Are you sure about that?" replied Beast Boy with malice. "I would assume that you think that we were all stupid for ever trusting Terra when you clearly knew that she was going to betray us. I would assume that you think that that story would have been just as ridiculous as this one."

Raven's eyes narrowed. "That's not true and you know it." _Why is he doing this?_ she thought. _Stupid. He's doing the same thing to you that you did to him. He's showing you that it hurts_.

"Oh, really? You're always the one who seems to know if someone is lying or not. Could you tell?"

"I don't think he was lying, but I'm not sure."

Beast Boy laughed sarcastically. "Well, obviously you're not sure. You must have had some stuff clogging your brain when Terra showed up."

Raven's eyes flashed with anger. "Don't play that card with me. I was never totally trusting of her. _I_ didn't let her get inside me. _I_ didn't let her betray me."

Beast Boy's eyes glowed with malice. "You - ,"

Robin stood. "Enough," he said in a firm voice. He turned to look at both of them individually. "I don't know what your problem is, but you can deal with it later. We've got more important things to worry about right now. The question still remains: What are we going to do about Slade?"

"I believe that he was telling the truth," said Starfire. "He has given us no indication that he has been lying to us. He seems to have been very sincere with us even when we have mistreated him."

"I haven't mistreated him," shot back Robin. "I'm being cautious." Everyone turned to stare at him with a "Yeah, right" look on their face. "Okay, I'll admit that I didn't believe him at first. It's gonna be pretty hard for me to trust someone who I have as much of a history with, even if that isn't the Slade from our world. I'm pretty sure that the rest of you can probably say that you're not willing to trust him implicitly, am I right?" Reluctantly, the Titans nodded.

"I'm still not sure that I believe him. But I'm not ready to just take him out back and shoot him. Even though I'm not sure he's telling the truth, I'm willing to listen to him and I'm willing to believe him." Silence filled the room following his little speech.

Starfire's eyes softened. "You speak the truth?"

Robin nodded. "Yes."

Cyborg spoke up, having been unusually silent for the conversation. "I think we're kind of stuck between a rock and a hard place. If we do go with Slade, it could turn out to be a trap. That would be extremely bad for us. But if we didn't help Slade, I can't help but think that we would all feel guilty because of that."

"Damned if we do, damned if we don't," said Robin.

"Something like that."

Robin sighed. "Well, before we vote, I think that we should hear everyone's opinion on this, without jumping down everyone's throats," he said, turning to look at Raven and Beast Boy. "You've already heard mine." He turned to face Starfire. "Star, what's your take?"

Starfire stood and inhaled deeply. "I believe that this person who we have in our brig is not Slade. He does not seem to be hostile towards us in any way. He did not seem to be lying to us when he told us of his story. I feel that we should not turn away from him simply because we do not like his name." She sat down.

As he was sitting next to Starfire, Cyborg stood up. "Guess I'm up, huh? Look, I'm not jumping at the idea of working with this guy. I don't know if I could ever trust him. But I also know that we can't just immediately dismiss this guy just because his name is Slade. I'm not entirely sure what we should do." He sat down.

Inhaling, Raven stood. "I do not believe that the person is lying to us. I think that he genuinely wants our help and he isn't here to deceive us. That being said, I don't know how much we should trust him. Just because he isn't lying to us about this doesn't mean that he has no ulterior motives. He may want our help for his own personal reasons, whatever they may be." Robin breathed a sigh of relief as she sat, for he had feared that Beast Boy would stand up and interrupt her.

Beast Boy then stood. "Look, I'm not real thrilled about this. I don't know if this guy is telling us the truth or not. I do know that Slade's true art form is deception. This could be his freaking masterpiece, for all we know. I just don't know about this."

As he sat, Raven spoke. Robin hung his head, preparing for the coming onslaught. "You certainly had no problems trusting Terra even though you didn't know anything about her." Immediately, she regretted her harsh words. Robin thought about intervening, but decided to let the argument play out a little longer.

Much to everyone's surprise, Beast Boy remained silent. He did not give a word of defense. He just sat there.

Seeing that there was not going to be a full blown argument, Robin stood. "Well, then I guess it's time we take a vote. If you think we should help this man, say yes. If you think he is lying to us, say no." He turned to Starfire. "Star?"

"Yes, we should help him."

All eyes turned to Cyborg. "Yeah, I would say yes."

"It seems to be what we should do," said Raven.

Everyone looked to Beast Boy, waiting for his vote. "I'll do it," he said in a low voice. Robin could tell that Raven's words had hit a nerve.

"I also say yes," said Robin. "I guess that makes it unanimous." Looking outside, he saw that it was already dark. "Well, I guess we can tell him in the morning. Let's call it a night."

After the meeting, Starfire stayed in the conference room. She put her head in her hands. Robin, noticing her distress, stayed behind as well. "Hey, Star," he said gently. "Are you okay?"

Starfire looked up at Robin. "I am concerned for Raven and Beast Boy. I do not know what has happened to them. Yesterday, they seemed fine as they were going to the theater of movies. Now, they are constantly arguing with each other and saying mean things to each other.

"I worry that the two of them are going to constantly fight now. I don't want that to happen." As she spoke, tears began to come to her eyes. "And I don't understand why the two of them are fighting. There must be some underlying reason, and I want to help." She did not sob or make any other noise as she cried, but she cried nonetheless.

Robin sighed. "It really bothers you to see emotions like that, doesn't it?"

"No," Starfire responded. "What bothers me is that I feel like there is something I should be doing to help them. There must be something that I can do to help them stop fighting. There has to be - ,"

"No, Star," Robin interrupted, shaking his head. "Sometimes, boyfriends and girlfriends have arguments." He sat down next to her. He put his hand under her chin and brought her eyes up to meet his. "But it's not something you can control or correct. You just have to let it play out."

"Do you think that maybe we should try to talk to them? Get them to talk to each other?"

Robin shrugged. "You can try if you want to. It certainly can't hurt." Robin's demeanor changed from support to uncertainty. "But I'm not even sure what they're fighting about. I don't know. It's all going over my head. Neither of them confides in me that often." He looked back to Starfire. "But you could try to talk to them. See if you can find out what's wrong or just try to help them."

Starfire stood. Robin followed suit. As he was standing, Starfire pulled him into an embrace. Robin, taken a little off guard at first, then returned the embrace, circling his arms behind her.

She suddenly pulled away. "Thank you," she said. She then left the room, presumably to try to talk to them.

Robin sighed and fell back into his chair. _Damn, I'm pretty lucky to have her. She's so amazing._

Then his voice of reason piped up. _"Have" her? You aren't even going out. You don't really have her. I don't know why you don't just come out and tell her how you feel about her. You're acting like some idiot middle-schooler who's having his first crush._

Robin snapped out of his self-talk. He shook his head. "I gotta quit talking to myself."

_XxX_

Beast Boy didn't even make it to his room before he just decided to stop. In the middle of the hallway, he stopped and backed up to the wall. He slid down the back of the wall slowly, his knees practically giving out from under him.

As he slid downwards, he rested his elbows on his knees and put his head in his hands. His anger was quickly growing towards Raven. _Why the hell does she always bring up the past?_ he thought. _She always does this! She pulls the card on me that I trusted Terra and she didn't. That I got my heart broken when she betrayed us._

_But, no, Raven knew all along that Terra was going to betray us. Raven and her oh-so-high-and-mighty foresight. _He scoffed. _Yeah. Well her foresight did us a hell of a lot of good when Terra decided to show her true colors. I should hate Raven for that. How dare she talk to me that way!_

However, just as quickly, his anger subsided to depression. It was as if two sides of him, anger and depression, were warring with each other. The problem is that whichever side won, Beast Boy would be on the losing end of the conflict.

Before he could stop them, the tears began to flow from his eyes again. He tried to stop them, but as he did, they intensified, making his depression worse. He did not sob, but his shoulders heaved silently as he watched the tears fall from his eyes to the carpet below.

He felt all of his emotions come out at once with those tears. Anger, depression, fear, sadness, annoyance, hatred, all of it.

Suddenly, he heard footsteps at the end of the corridor. He immediately stopped crying and stood up. He expected to see Robin or Cyborg at the end of the hallway. Instead, he saw Raven. Immediately, he felt his anger well up inside of him again. However, he managed to suppress it with great effort.

"Do you need something?" he asked. He was surprised by the hoarseness of his own voice. It made him sound older. He also sounded drained.

_Good God, I did this to him,_ she thought. _He looks horrible._ "Beast Boy, I……."

She stopped, not wanting to continue for fear of an immediate retribution from him.

"You what?" he asked.

She inhaled deeply. She knew that she had to say it. "I wanted to say that I'm sorry. I said horrible things to you. I never should have brought up Terra. And I never should have said those things about you. How you let her get inside you. How you let her get close to you. It was a horrible thing to say."

Silence followed. An extremely uneasy silence. "Well?" she asked after several seconds that seemed to drag on for hours.

"Rae, I need you to understand something." _Oh, boy_, she thought. _He's about to lay into me_. "I need to you know something." He inhaled deeply. "I need you to know that I don't love Terra." He stepped towards her, looking directly into her eyes. "I don't _love_ her.

"I did love her. The reason I loved her was because she was the first person to truly love me in a long time." He looked downwards, sadness clouding his eyes. "But then she betrayed us. She betrayed _me_. And she broke my heart. I will never love her again. I do have feelings for her. But I only care about her as a friend. I do not love her." He stopped speaking, looking right into her eyes. "Do you understand?"

Raven closed her eyes. She nodded. "Yeah, I understand." She looked back up to him. "I know you don't love her. I was just…..just….." She stopped, searching for the right word.

"Jealous?"

Raven laughed quietly. "Yeah, I guess I was. Not really like me, is it?"

"Heh. No." He smiled at her and she returned the smile. "Rae, I'm sorry about what I said during the meeting too. I snapped at you when I shouldn't have. I shouldn't have insulted you. It was wrong, even though I was really pissed off at you. So, I'm sorry too."

Raven's eyes widened slightly in surprise. "What?" asked BB.

"Nothing. It's just that three years ago, you would never have said you were sorry to me. You've really changed in the last couple years, you know?"

BB nodded. "Yeah, I know." He looked at her with uncertainty in his eyes. "Is that bad?"

Raven smiled. "No. You've gotten more mature. It's good. I like it."

"So, we're good?" Beast Boy asked.

Raven nodded. "Yeah, we're good." She started to step back, but Beast Boy wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close to him unexpectedly. Her hands flew to his chest reflexively to keep them from colliding. _Wow, he has some muscles under there, _she thought. _Wait a minute. I'm thinking this about Beast Boy._

She looked up into his eyes. He moved down to her. _When'd he get taller than me?_ _And he smells good, too. Wait, where'd that come from? Why am I – _she didn't have time to finish the thought as Beast Boy gently pressed his lips against hers. He slid his arms around behind her back. She moved her hands up to behind his neck.

Slowly, he pulled back from her, his hands still around her back and her hands still around his neck. "Good sign. We just weathered our first fight." He smiled. "Guess that means we're doing pretty good."

She smiled. "Yeah, I guess so."

_God, she's so beautiful,_ he thought. Without even thinking about it, he pulled her forward to him again, his lips meeting hers. _She's so beautiful_.

_XxX_

Slade Wilson sat alone in the detention room. He'd been attempting to keep track of time so he could tell how long he'd been in there. But he'd fallen asleep. He didn't know how long he'd been in there. It could have been minutes, hours, or days. He had no idea. The time alone gave him some time with his thoughts.

He thought back to his parents and his life as a young child and then as a teenager.

_A five-year old Slade Wilson sat in the chair with his arms crossed defiantly. He refused to give any ground in this battle. He absolutely REFUSED! There was no way that she was going to make him do it. No way._

"_Slade, you need to eat your vegetables," his mother said softly, even though she was quickly losing patience._

_Slade shook his head vehemently. "No, I hate them!"_

_His mother sighed. "Alright. I didn't want to have to do this. If you don't eat three bites of your vegetables, then you don't get any snack tonight."_

_Slade's big eyes widened. "No snack?" he asked sadly._

_His mother held up three fingers. "Three bites, and you'll get your snack. If not, then you don't get a snack tonight. That simple," she said._

_Three bites of vegetables were quickly devoured by Slade. His mother laughed. "See? Now was that so hard?"_

_Slade shook his head. "No. I get my snack tonight, right?"_

_His mother smiled. "Yes, you get your snack tonight."_

Thinking back on this, Slade smiled. If only he could keep out the surrounding circumstances. This scene had taken place inside a blown-out old building, with many other people constantly milling around. A nasty smell had been in the air, though it was nothing Slade had noticed at the time. He still didn't notice it. He'd grown up with it.

His father had been out on a recon mission. His mother had been worried sick for several days, but she had never showed signs of it around Slade. She was always strong for her son. Her only child who she loved so much. Of course, Slade had been oblivious to all of this at the time. Even in a world as twisted as that, a five-year old child still has innocence.

His mind drifted to memories as a teenager.

_The Allied trooper was closing on him. "Stop, in the name of the Unity Alliance!" the trooper yelled after Slade. But the athletic 17-year old was too fast for the trooper. Slade continued to pull away from the trooper._

_Thoroughly fed up, the trooper pulled out his weapon and fired a round. Slade stopped moving. "Don't move, or I swear to God, I'll kill you." The trooper quickly moved up to Slade, shoving the gun into Slade's back. "Turn around," he whispered in Slade's ear._

_Instinct took over. Without even thinking about it, Slade turned around rapidly, using his right hand to knock the gun away from the trooper. He curled his left hand into a fist and punched the trooper in the side of the head, knocking him to the ground._

_Dazed, but still conscious, the trooper's eyes fell on the gun that had been tossed away. He made a scramble for it. Slade was quick after him, diving for the gun. Instead, he landed next to the trooper. Both ignoring the gun, the two of them got into a fistfight on the ground._

_Without even thinking, Slade reached his arm upwards. He felt the gun with his hand. He yanked it into his grip and pulled it to aim at the trooper's chest. By sheer instinct, he fired._

_The trooper's eyes widened. Blood poured out of the bullet hole in his chest. Slade scrambled out from under the trooper's body. Slade began to breathe quickly. _Oh, my God_, he thought. _I shot him.

_The trooper looked up at Slade, pain and fear in his eyes. Then he exhaled and fell to the ground. Dead._

That was the first time he had ever killed someone. It had taken him weeks to come to terms with it. He'd had to talk with his father about it. Even though the main was an Alliance trooper, Slade had beaten himself up about it for weeks, until his father finally told him something.

"Sometimes, we have to do horrible things. Horrible things. Things that no one should have to do. But sometimes we have to do those things to ensure our own survival. We must ensure our own survival."

Slade had taken those words to heart, though he still did not take any pleasure from taking someone else's life.

Suddenly, the door slid open to the detention area. Slade immediately stood. Through the steam, he saw a solitary figure walking into the room. Robin was slowly revealed as the steam dissipated.

Without waiting for the question, Robin spoke. "It's unanimous. We've decided to help you, Slade Wilson."

Slade sighed in relief, a great deal of anxiety and fear released from him. "Thank you," he said.

Before he could continue, Robin spoke again. "Just know this. I'm putting my trust in you. If you ever break that trust, I don't even want to know just what I'll do to you. Understand?"

Slade nodded. "Yes."

"Now, how do we get back to this other world of yours?"

"I must return to the point where I entered this world and I must activate this device." He pulled out a small mechanical device. It kind of looked like a cell phone. "With this, I can transport all of us through the dimensional rift back to my world, exactly top where I left from Resistance Headquarters."

"Good."

_XxX_

Twenty-four hours later, the Titans stood in an alley near Caldren Avenue. Robin looked around suspiciously. He turned to Slade. "Let's go," he said. "This isn't exactly the best part of town. We're not very popular."

Slade snorted. "Oh, you'll love it in Unitopolis."

"Unitopolis?" asked Cyborg.

"Yes. It's the capital of the Unity Alliance."

"Which is where we're going, right?"

Slade nodded. "Yes."

"Great. Can't wait to see what kind of welcoming party we get there."

Slade turned towards the back wall of the alley. He set the device down and input a password in to activate the interface. He then spoke into the device.

"Activate return wormhole from last known travel entry."

A mechanical voice responded to him. "Voiceprint and authorization code required."

"Name: Slade Wilson. Authorization code: 7-Alpha-Omega-9-46."

"Authorization confirmed. Activating return wormhole from last known travel entry. Point of origin: Grid 98376, Place – Jump City. Point of destination: Grid 59301, Place – Unitopolis. ETA – 0.0095 seconds."

Out of nowhere, a swirling mass of energy formed above the device. The mass quickly grew in size and opened up, becoming person-sized. "Activation complete," said the device.

All of the Titans mouths dropped as the wormhole opened. "I gotta get me one of those," said Cyborg.

Slade turned to the other Titans. "It's opened. Time to go." With no further warning, he stepped into the swirling energy and disappeared.

Robin cocked his head and looked at the wormhole. He turned to Cyborg. "Cy, you sure this thing is safe?"

Cyborg shrugged. "Nothin' ventured, nothin' gained." He stepped into the wormhole.

Robin inhaled and raised his eyebrows in doubt. He then proceeded to step into the wormhole.

Starfire flew into the swirling energy without a word shortly after Robin entered.

Beast Boy turned to Raven. "Guess that leaves us two, huh?"

"Yeah," she said. She looked back at the wormhole. "Kinda weird, but I'm up for it if you are."

Beast Boy laughed. "You think I'm scared of that?"

Raven cocked her head. "Well….."

"Alright, then fine." He grabbed her hand in his. "I guess we go then, huh?"

"That's the idea," she responded. Beast Boy looked back out towards the end of the alley, back towards the street. "What is it?" Rae asked.

Beast Boy shook his head. "Nothing." He looked into her eyes. "We should probably go."

"We go together," she said.

"Right."

And the two of them stepped into the swirling energy together.

**Author's Note: See, I told you not all was lost when it came to Raven and Beast Boy. I must also say, it is intensely fun to write all these memories of Slade. Just fun.**

**Yes, I know that I stole a line from Batman Begins. But it was going to be either form Batman or Independence Day, and I liked Gary Oldman's line better than Will Smith's.**

**I don't know when I'll have Chapter Four up. I haven't even started yet, so I'm not sure. I can get some work done on this during Programming, but that goes only so far. Hopefully, it won't be too long.**

**Until next time.**

**-24DQ**


	5. Chapter Four: Unfriendly Territory

**Disclaimer: Want to know something shocking? I STILL don't own the Teen Titans**

**Author's Note: Well, it's been a while since I've been writing on this one, now hasn't it? I'm glad to be back though. I'm here with my biggest chapter yet (14 pages, over 6000 words), so I hope it satisfies you. I've written ten of those pages just tonight, so we'll see how it goes.**

**This chapter is a little more about business and less about romance, but I have some stuff in there. Just FYI.**

**Dedication: I dedicate this chapter to Jessemudflap. This person is one of the best author's I've ever read on and her updating of her stories finally gave me the kickstart I needed to start writing again. So, thank you, Jessemudflap.**

Chapter Four: Unfriendly Territory

Silence filled the room. A surprise, considering what had just taken place there. The room was fairly dark, a sole lamp giving light to it. The room was also barren, save for two chairs and a table, both chairs metal. Both of them were scratched and scuffed. The chairs always remained in that room. They never left it. The table was also made of cold steel. This room was not one of living or happiness or even life.

This was a room of torture. That was its sole purpose. It was designed to intimidate people just by its décor and architecture. The walls, ceiling, and floor of the room were all cold, hard concrete. The only notable thing about the walls was the occasional bullet hole. There was no emotion dwelling in this room save for fear and anger.

Even the lamp which seemed to be the sole beacon of light in the room was tainted. There were spots of something on the light bulb which covered up some of the light. At first glance, the substance on the light bulb appeared to be some sort of black liquid. But it was blood.

Blood that had sprayed up onto the light bulb during the torture.

A man stood in the corner of the room, a small, sleek 9mm pistol in his hand. He'd had this weapon for several years now. It had become his personal weapon. He slowly returned the weapon to its rightful place inside his coat pocket. He always kept it there for personal protection. He knew that there were quite a few people who would probably like to see him dead. It was his job to survive. No one cared about anything here other than their own survival.

And the occasional good sex, which he had no problem with.

As he returned the pistol to its place, he took a last look into the room, taking time to glance at his current handiwork. Strapped to one of the chairs was a woman. She was dead. She had been shot in the back of the head. He chuckled wryly to himself. She had had no idea what was going on. All of a sudden, she had been picked up by Alliance troops and brought here.

On the other chair was a man. Actually, he was a high-ranking member of the resistance. He was also dead, having been shot between the eyes. Blood was splattered on the wall behind him. _The cleanup crew will take care of that blood_, he thought. _They never let blood stain the wall._ Of course, the man's technique had worked again.

He had learned exactly what he wanted to know. _Fools_, he thought. _They always think I'm bluffing when I tell them what I'll do. They have no idea how far I'll go, do they?_ Once again, he laughed at the irony.

He stepped towards the door that stood behind him. As he was about to put his hand on the knob, the door suddenly swung open. Surprised by the sudden movement, the man instinctively felt in his jacket for the weapon. Once he saw who was in the doorway, he relaxed slightly. However, he knew that this was one man who would probably like to see him dead.

Richard Grayson stood in the doorway. His eyes seemed to burn a hole through the other man's head. "Did you get what you needed?"

The man chuckled. "Of course I did. I always do." He looked up to Grayson. "You should know that by now."

"Don't get smart with me, you bastard." He grabbed the other man's collar. "What the hell do you think you're trying to do? Are you just plain stupid?"

Calmly, the man reached up to his collar. He removed Grayson's hand from his collar, causing him to drop back to the ground lightly. "Calm down, Richard. Remember, we are on the same side."

Grayson stepped back from the man. "You listen to me, you son of a bitch. We may be on the same side, but that doesn't mean that I wouldn't hesitate to kill you. Never forget that."

This elicited a loud laugh from the man. "Richard, if you killed me, then who would do what I do?"

Grayson's eyes burned venomously into the man. "I think that we could live without your sarcastic wit." He then softened, taking on more of a business-like stance. "So, where did Slade go anyways? He's been gone for a week and a half and no one knows where he went."

The man held up a finger. "You mean you don't know where he went."

Grayson's eyes narrowed. "You found out?"

The man shrugged. "More or less. You remember that prototype for a transdimensional gateway that the Allied science department was working on?"

Grayson nodded, his eyes deep in recollection. "Yeah, I remember. I heard that it was destroyed in a lab experiment."

"Yeah, that's what the news media said."

Grayson's eyes widened in realization. "You mean - ,"

"Yes. In reality, it was stolen by operatives in the resistance. We don't know who these people are. They are very elusive. But it was stolen two weeks ago. The resistance has plenty of capable scientists. It's not that hard to figure out how to turn something on."

"But why would Slade want to go to another dimension? It doesn't make sense."

"Who knows, but who cares? It's not that important. Wherever he went or why he went doesn't really matter. The resistance is on the losing end of this war and they know it too. It won't be too long before we overrun all of their positions.

"Wherever he went, we'll find him and kill him. That simple."

"I hope you're right," replied Grayson. "There's a lot riding on this war. And I don't need you screwing it up for us."

The man laughed. "Trust me, if I'm going to screw anything, it's not gonna be this war."

"Trust you? Trust you? There isn't a snowball's chance in hell that I'll ever trust you." Once again, Grayson grabbed the man by the collar, this time lifting him up off the ground. "If you ever try to screw me over, I'll kill you."

He looked directly in the man's eyes. "Are we clear, Garfield Logan?"

Without waiting for a response, Grayson shoved Logan down. He turned his back on Logan and stalked off.

Logan called after Grayson, "Perfectly clear."

_XxX_

As Robin stepped through the portal, he found himself greeted with the barrel of a semiautomatic weapon. Immediately, his pulse began to race. He looked at the bearer of the weapon and was met with cold eyes. _He set us up_.

The rest of the Titans came through the portal. As they did, every single person in that room pulled out some sort of gun. In unison, they pointed their guns at the Titans.

Instinctively, the Titans raised their hands. Beast Boy leaned over to Raven and whispered, "We surrender?" She responded by lightly elbowing him in the ribs.

Slade turned around once he saw that his troops were revealing their weapons. He immediately took action. "All of you, put down your weapons," he said forcefully.

"No, that's fine. We like having loaded guns pointed at us," said Beast Boy sarcastically. "Especially with trigger-friendly people on the other ends."

The man holding Robin at gunpoint turned to look at Slade. "What the hell do you think you're doing, bringing them here?" He turned back to Robin. "I could shoot you now and not even think twice." He leaned in closer to Robin. "Whaddya think of that, you son of a bitch?"

Slade stepped forward and put his hand on the forearm of the other man. "Listen to me." The other man turned to look at Slade's eyes. "This is not what you think. They've come here to help. I asked them to."

Before Slade could continue, the other man interrupted. "You asked these people to come here?" he asked incredulously. "What is wrong with you? This bastard killed my brother." The man turned back to face Robin. "You put a bullet in his head." His finger tightened on the trigger. Robin tensed. "Maybe I should do the same thing to you."

Before Robin could even register any movement, Slade grabbed hold of the man's hand and yanked it upwards. The man pulled the trigger by reflex and the gunshot rang out through the room. Slade twisted the man's wrist, causing him to cry out in pain. He dropped his weapon.

Slade stepped forward, any sense of compromise gone. "Put your weapons down NOW," he said forcefully. Reluctantly, the other gunbearers complied, lowering their weapons.

Slade brought himself up to his full height, assuming the aura of a commander. "These people are not who you think they are. They are not the same people who have been hunting us since the start of this war."

The man who had held Robin at gunpoint stood up, holding his wrist. "Then do you mind telling us who the hell they are?"

Slade sighed. "It's a long story. When I went through the portal, I found myself in another world. It seemed like this one, but it was different." Slade smiled ruefully. "It was like the world we've always dreamed of. One where people are not oppressed, but are free to do what they want. No troops marching the streets, no curfew, no war. Freedom and peace.

"I tried to look for help in this place. The kind of help that the Resistance needs to combat the Unity Alliance. As I moved around the city, I learned of a group of young people who helped the public at great risk to themselves. They were never paid for their services. They simply did it because they had been gifted with powers and it was their duty to help the public."

He turned towards the Titans and waved his arm in their direction. "These people standing here before you are the same people that I'm talking about. In our world, these people are murdering sociopaths who care only for themselves. But these people standing here before you are not those people. These people are different."

"How do you know that?" a person yelled out from the group. "They could be screwing with us, trying to blow up our home bases. How do you know you can trust them?"

Slade smiled. "I don't. That's what trust is." He turned back to the Titans. "And it wasn't easy for them to accept this either. In their world, I am the evil, not them." This sent a considerable murmur through the crowd. "In their world, I'm the murdering sociopath who cares only for myself. It wasn't easy for them to gain a working trust with me. But they have."

He turned back to the crowd. "All I ask of you is that you give them the same respect that they have given me. You don't have to like them. But know that they are not your enemy. Your real enemy is out there in the city. Do not mistake these people for your enemy." With that, he finished his speech.

He walked back toward the Titans. Robin leaned over. "Do you think that'll be enough to sway them?"

Slade chuckled. "One thing you gotta learn is that my people may have itchy trigger fingers, but they have brains too. They'll give this a chance." He grabbed Robin's shoulder and pulled Robin's ear right next to his mouth. "Just don't screw this up or we're all dead." He released Robin's shoulder. "Got it?"

Robin nodded. Slade turned back to the crowd. He stepped down to the man who had attacked Robin. Slade put his hand on the man's shoulder. "So, will you trust me in this?"

The man slowly moved his eyes up to make contact with Slade's. Grudgingly, he nodded. "We will."

A smile broke on Slade's face. "Good. Just remember that I know what I'm doing. And if I'm wrong about this, I'll be the first one to take them down," he said.

"That's real comforting," said Raven.

Slade turned back to the Titans. "Well, I guess if you're going to help us, you should see what you're getting into. Come with me." He began walking towards the door. The Titans followed him.

As they were walking out, a man grabbed the shoulder of Beast Boy's uniform. "You try anything, I'll slit your throat myself," came the throaty, whispery threat. Beast Boy was then shoved forward. He turned around to see who had threatened him, but he only saw unrecognizable faces.

When she noticed Beast Boy had stopped, Raven turned around. "Hey," she called to him. He turned back towards her. "Are you going, or are you going to wait around here?" Beast Boy quickly moved back next to Raven, and they both exited the room.

_XxX_

As they walked through the corridor, Slade turned a corner and entered a room. There was a large table in the center of the room with about a dozen seats around the table. Cyborg commented, "This is some sort of briefing room, isn't it?"

Slade nodded. "Yes, it is. It's our official briefing room. Before I show you the headquarters of the Free World Resistance, I figured I should give you a detailed history on what caused World War III and what has happened since then."

Robin nodded. "Please do so." The Titans all sat down at the table, while Slade took the seat at the head of the table.

Slade began. "Through much of the 1950's, a lot of fear spread through the United States about the "Reds", or Communists. This fear caused internment camps to be built by President Dwight Eisenhower in 1958. If someone was even suspected of being a Communist, they were placed in an internment facility. This angered many liberal civil rights activists, but they were silenced by what was quickly becoming a militaristic United States.

"In 1960, Eisenhower's tenure as President ended, but the camps did not. Richard Nixon was elected President in the 1960 election. He campaigned under the promise of keeping the camps alive and by sticking with the policy of brinkmanship. His opponent, John Kennedy, campaigned under the promise of ending the internment camps and returning to diplomacy. Kennedy appeared to be in the lead, but a week before the election, he was assassinated by ultra-conservative John Nichols, a man who despised Communism and felt that every person had some "Red" in them. Who knows what may have happened had Kennedy won the election.

"After Nixon was elected, the United States went even further downhill. Riots erupted in many cities with mass lynchings of suspected Communists. One city, Austin, Texas, literally fell apart because of the riots. The rioters started a fire that rapidly went out of control. The fire managed to reach a nuclear power plant just outside of the city. The plant exploded. The entire city was destroyed. Nixon, seeing this as an opportunity to further his agenda of war against the Soviets, blamed the explosion on the Communists who were being attacked in the riots. This sent a wave of uproar through the country, with the public demanding immediate action.

"Meanwhile, the Soviet Union became increasingly worried with the unstable political climate in the United States. To protect themselves, they began increasing their activity in the Caribbean area, specifically around the island of Cuba. Fidel Castro, the Communist leader of Cuba, welcomed the Soviet assistance with open arms. The Soviet began increasing their military presence there. Eventually, this included nuclear weapons.

"The United States, even more unstable than it had been in 1960, learned of this new threat. Nixon demanded the immediate removal of the nuclear missiles from Cuba. Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev refused to capitulate, stating that the Soviet Union was keeping the missiles in Cuba for its own protection. On June 26, 1961, Nixon responded by invading Cuba.

"Before American troops could reach the missiles, all of them were launched. Fifty missiles from Cuba landed on the United States, destroying every major city in the country. The United States then sent over 500 missiles towards the Soviet Union. Before its command centers were destroyed, the Soviet Union sent another 300 missiles at the United States. Both countries were completely decimated. To this day, the land where the countries used to be is still uninhabitable. The radiation from the missiles is so severe that it will literally kill you in minutes. As far as casualties go, we've never been too sure. We think that around 125 million Americans and 140 million Soviets were killed by the missiles.

"With the destruction of the Soviet Union and the United States, the smaller nations of the world began to turn on each other. Pakistan and India went to war, the entire Middle East region disintegrated into destruction, China annihilated Taiwan, and the Korean peninsula was destroyed. One of the most devastating attacks was when Germany attacked France and England. Bitter over their loss in World War II, Germany used the destabilization as an opportunity to take revenge. They had secretly built up armies and used them to invade France. Once England discovered this, they used their nuclear weapons against Germany. Little did they know that the fallout from their attack would blanket France, wiping the country from the face of the earth.

"The war ended in November of 1961. By the end of the war, over one billion people had been killed. Out of the ashes, the fascists grew to power. They took over all of the remaining world governments and used them to create one all-powerful, all-encompassing nation known as the Unity Alliance. The Unity Alliance rapidly spread throughout the world, and before March, 1962, it encompassed the entire world.

"While at first seeming like a benevolent and kind nation, wanting to rebuild after the devastating war, it quickly became clear that this government was headed down the wrong path. Critics of the government began disappearing. People started randomly disappearing for no reason whatsoever.

"My grandfather, Senator Richard Wilson from Iowa, was the only surviving member of the United States government, as far was we know. He learned of this Unity Alliance. At first, he too was seduced by its false promises. But he quickly realized the truth. He knew that this government was heading down the path of an oppressive, dictatorial regime. At the end of 1962, he established the Free World Resistance, which continues to this day, as you know.

"It took many years for the Resistance to get the attention of the Alliance. In fact, it was not until around fifteen years ago, in 1991. My father, the leader of the resistance at the time, planned a bombing in Unitopolis at a celebration commemorating the 30th birthday of the Unity Alliance. The bombing was very successful. Around 100 people were killed in the attack, and public confidence was shaken for the first time since the end of the war. The people were shaken by the fact that a bunch of terrorists had actually managed to bomb someplace. It shattered their sense of invincibility and was a major victory for the Resistance."

"You call the killing of a hundred people a victory?" asked Raven.

Slade shook his head. "I regret deaths that are caused during our attacks. But the casualties could have been much worse. My father intentionally used the device so that there would be as few people killed as possible. The casualties could have been in the thousands."

Slade continued with his history of the Resistance. "Since that bombing, the Alliance has taken a much greater interest in our destruction. They have been much more active in their search for us. Recently, the violence has escalated even further. The public is getting tired of guerilla-style hit and run attacks. Many in the public are beginning to share our viewpoint. Any person even suspected of being a Resistance member is immediately rounded up and taken to detention. This is eroding public morale.

"Soon, the world may be at war again. Hopefully, it will have a better outcome than the last war that was fought."

Silence filled the room at the end of Slade's lecture. Smiling, he asked, "Any questions?"

Beast Boy asked, "Yeah, if the US was destroyed, then where are we right now?"

Slade turned around. "Excellent question." Slade touched a few buttons on a keypad, and a map of the world lit up the table below them. The Titans stood, taking in the map in astonishment.

"What kinda technology is that?" asked Cyborg.

"It's a holographic image processor," responded Slade. "Imagers inside the table put out any information I send to it. It could be a map, like this, or it could be videos or pictures. Pretty much anything you could think of."

"Cool."

Slade laughed. He then looked at the map. He pointed to a glowing dot that was in what used to be Great Britain. "This is where we are. Unitopolis. The old city of London was rebuilt and renamed Unitopolis. Some parts of London still exist to this day, such as Trafalgar Square and the old Parliament building."

Starfire pointed to a blinking yellow dot on the map that was in Australia. "There are many of these on the map. What are they?" she asked.

"All of the blinking dots you see are Resistance bases. We have dozens in every continent of the world except Antarctica."

Slade turned back to the keypad and punched a few buttons. The map on the table disappeared, returning the table to its stale, function-over-form gray color. Slade moved toward the door. "If you'll follow me, I'll show you the rest of our facility."

As he stepped out of the door, the Titans followed him. They walked through corridors and took several turns before they entered a room filled with computer monitors. Cyborg's eyes lit up. On the sides of the room, there were about three workstations on each side, each with a person working. Some of the people had headsets attached to them. On the floor in the center of the room, what appeared to be a tactical display floated a foot above the ground. In the display, there appeared to be random numbers floating around, with a partially formed picture in the center. On the rear wall of the room sat many computer monitors linked together to form a map of what appeared to be satellite activity above the earth.

Slade stepped forward. "This is our operations room, or as many call it, the TAC room. This room is where we direct the operation of the Resistance from. Everything that goes on, from attack sites to advance intelligence to requisition orders, comes through here first."

He motioned towards the workstations. "This is where supervisors can regulate attacks. They can give orders from here and can give strikers a heads-up if they have Allied troops coming in on them."

He then looked towards the hologram in the center of the room. "This is used for large-scale assaults, if necessary. All operations can be routed through the central processor in case of an emergency. What it's doing right now is gathering intel from Allied computers and sifting through it by priority. If something urgent comes up, every computer station in this facility will have a flash from this processor, informing them of the situation."

He then walked towards the screen at the back of the room. "And this here is a more conventional display system. It gives information on massive Allied troop movements and is also gives us positions on the satellites that the Alliance has in orbit. Several of these satellites house nuclear warheads, and we have to keep an eye on them to see if any of them are launched."

He then turned and headed back to the exit of the room. He turned around and called back to the Titans, "If you'll follow me, please." The Titans followed him out the room.

Cyborg continued to stare at the room, completely in awe. Beast Boy stuck his head back in the doorway, seeing that Cyborg was still in there. "Hey, Cy!" he yelled. Cyborg turned to look at him. "Come on."

Cyborg turned around and walked out of the room. He looked at Beast Boy. "I've never seen anything like this place. I mean, it's unbelievable. There's so much cool tech here that I've never seen before and - ,"

"Hey, Cy."

"Yeah?"

"You do realize it's _me_ you're talking to, don't you?"

Cyborg nodded. "Right."

They walked through the corridor until Slade turned into another large room. Inside the room were racks and racks of weapons. Everyone's mouth dropped in awe. There were literally hundreds, maybe thousands of weapons inside the room. Row upon row, column upon column of weapons.

Slade spoke up. "As you can probably tell, this is our armory. We house every type of weapon we have in here. You'll find everything from semiautomatic weapons to pistols to C-4 inside here. Ammo is kept in a separate room from here, which I'll show you later."

Robin stared at the room, dumbstruck. "How many guns do you NEED?!" he asked, incredulous at the sheer volume of weapons before him.

Slade laughed. "You'd be surprised how much we use. Every Resistance base across the world has an armory just like this one. While not everyone has the TAC room, the armory is omnipresent in Resistance bases."

Slade turned around and exited the room, the Titans following him. It was kinda becoming old hat for them to just follow him out of the room as he left.

As they walked down the corridor, Slade stopped for a moment next to a door. He motioned toward the door. "This is the ammo room. Obviously, it's where we keep all of our ammunition for our weapons."

He continued walking down the corridor, taking a turn to the left. Again, he stopped in front of a door, this time an open door. "This is our infirmary. It's pretty self-explanatory, and it's not one of the better places to be while you're here. Hope none of you need to use it."

He continued on, going down the corridor, taking one final turn to the right. At the end of the hallway, there were six doors. "I've had rooms prepared for each of you, and you're lucky that you're in your own rooms. Most of my people usually have a roommate, whether they want to or not."

Robin stepped forward. "It's no imposition if you want to put us in two or three rooms as opposed to five. It's fine."

Slade laughed. "Trust me, you want the full room to yourself. The rooms are about the size of a closet, give or take. The door at the end of the hallway leads to the bathroom." Raven inhaled, but Slade beat her to the punch. "Before you ask, they're unisexual." All of the Titans grimaced. "I know, they're not what you'd prefer, but we have to make do."

Robin nodded. "We'll deal with it." Robin inhaled, preparing to speak. "Thank you for sticking up for us back there."

Slade laughed. "Wouldn't be very smart of me to turn on you, now would it?"

Robin smiled. "Still, thanks for sticking out for us." Robin extended his hand. Slade looked down at the hand, smiled, and shook it.

He then released Robin's hand and spoke to the group. "The night's almost over, meaning that the watches will be switching over. For today and the coming night, feel free to explore the facility. After tonight, I should have a better idea about what's transpired since I was last here."

He turned to leave, but stopped. "There's just one rule: don't go into someone else's room without permission. Quarters are tight enough, and a stranger walking into their room is bound to agitate people."

Robin nodded. "Will do."

Slade responded, "Excellent." He then turned to leave. "I'll see you tomorrow," he said, walking down the corridor and taking a turn.

Cyborg inhaled. "Well, I guess we should see what these rooms are like."

BB nodded. "That's probably a good idea."

Before the Titans could disperse, Raven spoke up. "Hang on. Are we going to set some, you know, regulations about the bathroom? I don't particularly mind using the same stalls as you guys, but showering with you at the same time wouldn't sit well with me."

Robin nodded. "Yeeeeeeaaaaah, I see your point. I would say that we should just set a time for when girls do showers and when guys do showers. And we don't really have to decide that now, do we?"

"No, I suppose not," said Starfire.

"Good. Then, uh, I'm gonna check out the rooms." Robin turned and walked toward one of the doors. He opened the door, and found that Slade was only partially exaggerating about the size. On one side of the room, there was a bunk bed. On the other side, there was a desk with a chair. In the back wall was a small closet for clothes. Robin laughed. "It's like a college dorm," he said. He then stepped inside.

_XxX_

Later that evening, Beast Boy and Raven were walking through the hallway together. They'd heard Robin talk about a really cool place where you could actually see most of the city. Raven and Beast Boy decided to go there to see what it was like. As they walked, BB tried to make some small talk.

"So, what do you think of this place so far?" he asked.

Raven exhaled, trying to come up with the right words for her answer. "Well, I think that we can trust Slade. He seems like a decent guy."

"Agreed."

"I'm just not sure about the rest of it. I mean, I've seen the way people look at me and it's like they're looking at the enemy. They give all kinds of judgmental and hateful stares that it's disturbing. And this is me saying this."

Beast Boy sighed. "Yeah, I would probably agree with you on that too. It seems like no one here trusts us except Slade." Beast Boy cocked his head at an angle. "But then, I don't really blame them for hating us. At least I don't right now."

"Really?" said Raven. "Now why do you say that?"

"Well, look at the way we treated Slade when he first showed up. We locked him in a cell and treated him with disdain and contempt. We didn't trust him. It took time for him to gain our trust. I think it'll just take time for us to gain the people's trust."

They continued walking in silence for a moment, until Raven spoke. "Beast Boy?"

"Yeah?"

"How do you feel about………I mean………what I'm trying to say is………" She stopped in mid-question, not wanting to go back down this avenue that had already been tread by her and Beast Boy.

"What?" asked Beast Boy. "What do you want to ask me?"

Raven inhaled, not wanting to ask him but knowing that she had to ask. "How are you going to handle seeing Terra again?"

For a moment, Beast Boy was silent, a pained expression crossed his face. _Shit_, thought Raven. _I shouldn't have asked that._

Beast Boy closed his eyes, then reopened them. "I'm not worried about it," he said. "I told you before we came here that I was done with Terra. I meant it. I have no feeling for Terra anymore, especially for one who is a murderous psycho."

Raven's face relaxed. "You really mean that?"

Beast Boy nodded. "Yes. You are the one that I care about, Rae."

Before Raven could respond, they turned a corner and were there. They stood on a balcony overlooking a good portion of the city. Both Raven and Beast Boy gasped.

The city was magnificent. There were gleaming buildings off on the horizon, some reaching to what seemed to be the heavens. The buildings curved and flowed. They didn't put function before form. They put form before function. When together, the buildings created a beautifully seamless and stunning visual.

Closer to the balcony, there stood some older buildings. What appeared to be Trafalgar Square stood about half a mile away from the balcony. They also saw the old Parliament building, with Big Ben still standing just the way it was back home in their world.

What was even more beautiful was that the old and the new didn't clash. They gleaming silver of the new didn't clash with the rust of the old. The two combined and formed a stunning piece of art that was breathtaking.

Beast Boy breathed lightly. "It's too bad this city's on the wrong side."

"Yeah," said Raven. "It's beautiful."

Without meaning to, Beast Boy slowly slid has around behind Raven's back and around her waist. He rested his hand on her hip. He stopped looking at the city and started looking at her. She looked so unbelievably amazing in the sunset. He smiled lightly.

Raven looked up at him. She saw his smile and suddenly realized that his hand was on her hip. What was even more surprising was that she didn't mind. Actually, she kinda liked it.

Slowly, Beast Boy pulled Raven into a kiss. The kiss was at first light, but then became deep and passionate. Beast Boy slid both of his arms around Raven's back while she snaked her hands up behind his neck. _God, this is so unbelievable_, thought Raven. _I never thought that I would ever do something like this. This is so unbelievable. It's so passionate, it's so – _

Without warning, Beast Boy broke away from the kiss. He took his hands away from her back and stepped backward a step. "I'm sorry," he said. "I should have asked before I did that. I shouldn't have done that without asking you."

Raven laughed. "Beast Boy, I told you before, don't be sorry." Smiling as she went, she left the balcony and walked back towards her room.

Beast Boy followed her with his eyes as she left. He sighed. _Man, this is unbelievable. I can't even believe what I'm doing here. She doesn't mind? Meaning she actually likes it? Wow! I mean, any other girl would probably be pissed off about being dragged into a kiss all of a sudden. But Raven likes it. It's unbelievable_. Smiling, Beast Boy took one last look at the city and then stepped off the balcony.

He headed back towards the general direction of his room, thinking only of Raven and how beautiful she looked in the sunset.

Suddenly, a fist landed in Beast Boy's face and knocked him flat on his back. As he fell, he whacked his head on the floor hard. He could feel his skull start to swell. Before he could get up, a knee landed in his stomach, causing him to cry out in pain. He looked up to see who his assailant was.

Above him was a man with indistinctive facial features. But there was no mistaking the voice. "Remember me, you bastard?" He grabbed Beast Boy by the collar and shoved him up against the wall. "I told you I'd slit your throat if you tried anything." He smiled venomously. "I couldn't wait up for you, so I figured 'what the hell' and thought I'd kill you now to put you out of your misery."

Beast Boy coughed and spat up some blood. _Definitely something broken_, he thought. "Why are you doing this?" he managed to ask through gritted teeth.

"Why?" The man pulled out a knife from behind him. "Because I saw what you did to them. What you did to _her_," he said. Tears began to well in the man's eyes, both from sadness and anger. "And I swore to myself that I would kill you if I ever got the chance." He leaned in towards Beast Boy. "And now I have that chance," he spat.

He raised the knife and plunged it into Beast Boy's right shoulder. Beast Boy screamed in pain. Tears filled his eyes as he looked down to see the knife protruding from his shoulder. He started to get dizzy. He felt the knife get pulled out of his shoulder. More intense pain filled his body as blood began to flow out of his shoulder. He brought his hand up to try to staunch the blood loss.

As he did this, the man plunged the knife into Beast Boy's side, renewing his screams of pain. Dark spots danced before Beast Boy's eyes as he felt pain rush up his side to inflame his whole body. Soon, his whole world was nothing but pain, and even that world dissolved into oblivion.

**Author's Note: So, do any of you think I just killed Beast Boy. I won't tell you, you'll have to wait until I update again. Which will hopefully be soon.**

**Anyways, I have to say, my favorite scene so far in this story is the opening one. I love scenes like that that are kinda mysterious and then reveal something so disturbing. It's just so much fun.**

**But it was also fun coming up with all that history stuff. I weaved in some real events (Cuban Missile Crisis), sped up some events (JFK assassination), and added in events of my own (destruction of Austin). That's something that's just a lot of fun to do.**

**Anyways, I hope that you enjoyed this chapter. Were any of you annoyed by the fact that it was mainly business? Are you on the edge of your seat from the cliffhanger? **

**Until next time.**

**-24DQ**


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